Navy gets 6th maritime patrol plane, likely to order four moreNEW DELHI: The Indian Navy is likely to order four more P-81 long-range maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft from American firm Boeing which delivered the sixth plane today as part of an eight-aircraft contract worth over Rs 12,000 crore.
The sixth aircraft landed at INS Rajali in Arakkonam in Tamil Nadu at about 4 PM today.

The eight-aircraft deal was signed in 2009 and as per the agreement, three each were to be delivered in 2013 and 2014 and two in 2015.

"The delivery schedule has been on time," a navy source said, adding that the force might go in for the option clause in the contract under which it can order four more.

The P-8I, based on the Boeing next-generation 737 commercial airplane, is a variant of the P-8A Poseidon that the US Navy uses.

India was Boeing's first international customer for this aircraft.

The aircraft features open system architecture, advanced sensors and display technologies.

It is equipped with foreign and indigenous sensors for maritime reconnaissance, anti-submarine operations and electronic intelligence missions.

“The Cost Negotiating Committee (CNC) has recently completed the negotiations. The talks between the Navy and Boeing are at an advanced stage to add four more P-8I aircraft to an existing order of eight,” The Hindu daily quoted unnamed Defense Ministry official as saying Thursday.

“The CNC file would soon be sent to the Defense Ministry’s finance wing and then to the Finance Ministry for approval before the Cabinet Committee on Security headed by the Prime Minister,” the official said.

India had signed a $ 2.2 billion contract to purchase eight P-8Is in 2009 with an optional clause for four more. The negotiations to buy four more aircraft have been going on for a year. Seven of the eight aircraft ordered earlier have already been inducted for service. The eighth aircraft is scheduled for delivery by October.

The P-8I is based on Boeing 737 commercial airplane and is a variant of P-8A Poseidon.

Boeing has ended $4.7 million contract with Indian Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) citing shoddy production quality of components for the nation’s P-8I Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.

“Boeing decided to end the contract after repeated remainders to HAL about its ‘poor quality’ of production. Boeing’s move underlines the need for better strategies by Indian policy makers in order to bolster the order books of defense public sector undertakings (DPSUs),” Financial Express quoted unnamed sources as saying Thursday.

Boeing has shifted its component sourcing requirements in India to private firms in the last few years. Tata Advanced Materials (TAML) and Dynamatic technologies for power and mission equipment cabinets for P-8I aircraft, TAML is also contracted for P-8I auxiliary power unit door fairings. Dynamatic Technologies is on contract to manufacture the aft pylon and cargo ramp assemblies for Boeing’s CH-47F Chinook. Maini and TAL Manufacturing Solutions are on contract to provide C-17 ground support equipment to Boeing.

“There were problems (with the Boeing contract), these would be resolved,” the news daily quoted senior HAL officials as saying.

“Boeing is already working with multiple companies in India to fulfill its commitments. We are actively working global sourcing strategies that can help make Boeing more competitive around the world, in addition to building India’s aerospace capabilities and meeting our offset commitments,” Dennis Swanson, vice-president of Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS) in India, had told FE in an interview earlier.

P-8I Neptune of the IN in a flypast for International Fleet Review-2016 off the coast of Vizag. Flanked by MiG-29K multirole planes and Hawk Mk.132 advanced jet trainers. Thanks to LIVEFIST and Shiv Aroor for the photographs.

The Indian Navy will get its additional P8I submarine killer, maritime reconnaissance aircraft starting July 2020, with work being initiated at the Boeing facility here to deliver an updated version of the combat plane.

The boost to the Indian fleet will come at a time when the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), which has been growing at a scorching pace over the past decade, is projected to have over 70 submarines in service.

India, which already operates eight of the long range sea patrol aircraft, has placed an order for an additional four planes in July this year and the Navy has shared an undisclosed list of upgrades and new features that it requires on the new planes, a senior Boeing executive has shared.

"We are looking forward to delivering the options in the July 2020 timeframe. We also have a long list of upgrades that the Indian Navy is interested in, we are working on that," Mark Jordan, Chief Engineer of the P8 program said.

While the Boeing official did not share details of the upgrades being discussed, the Indian Navy is also likely to contract for a simultaneous upgrade of its existing fleet of eight plans to the latest standard. The P8 aircraft are being flown by the US Navy and Australia has got deliveries of its first aircraft last week. In addition, the Royal Air Force is also placing an order for the unique maritime patrol and combat aircraft.

One of the projects being worked on the aircraft – which is equipped with Harpoon anti shipping missiles – is to give it the capacity to take in fuel while flying. While the Indian P8Is are equipped with aerial refueling system, it was not a contracted requirement from the Indian side.

Boeing officials said that the P8 planes are likely to be certified for aerial refueling by next year, giving a tremendous increase in range for maritime missions. While India does not have a tanker that is capable of refueling the P8I, it can take in fuel from American tankers – missions that have been made easy with the recent signing of a logistics sharing pact between the two nations.

India has been using its P8I fleet extensively for missions ranging from patrolling and spotting passing submarines and ships to search missions in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. Large scale search missions were recently carried out by the aircraft in search of the missing An 32 transporter off the Chennai coast. India is also looking to placing some aircraft at the Andaman islands to give them more reach to patrol regions of interest.

While 12 P8Is are now contracted by the Indian Navy, Boeing is hopeful for more orders with a top executive saying that the Indian side has expressed its willingness to look at adding additional planes in the future.